DISTRICT cooling will enjoy growing demand and accelerate green building technologies, a senior Empower official has said.

Commenting on Empower’s participation at Wetex 2012, Ahmed bin Shafar, chief executive of Empower, indicated that district cooling’s environmental advantages meant it was here in the region to stay. “We believe that district cooling will accelerate the move towards green buildings in the UAE as per the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,” he said.

Empower displayed a model of its project at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) at Wetex, which stands for the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition.

The district cooling plant at DIFC forms part of the expansion strategy of Empower, driven by high demand from the business sector and residential communities.

“We are honoured by the visit of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to our stand. This comes at a time Empower is reaching an enviable position worldwide and in the region,” said Bin Shafar.

Empower, which is a joint venture between Tecom and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), is now producing more than 360,000 refrigeration tonnes (RT) serving a set of leading real estate projects in Dubai such as the Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai Healthcare City, Jumeirah Beach Residence, City Of Arabia and Business Bay.

Empower says it uses the latest practices in designing and building its plants.

Wetex featured discussions on environmental topics by international experts. District cooling, being highly eco-friendly, represents an excellent alternative to conventional air conditioning. Empower displayed a range of district cooling solutions at Wetex 2012.

PROFIT SURGE

Empower has listed several projects it says are in the pipeline including one at Dubai World Trade Centre (168,000 RT). Others in the pipeline are Knowledge Village (Academic City) (160,000 RT), Dubai Land Residential Complex (120,000 RT), Dubai Healthcare City (60,000 RT) and Dubai Studio City (70,000 RT).

The company made a net profit of Dh162 million ($44.11 million) for the fiscal year ended December 2011, representing a 25 per cent increase over 2010.

Its total revenues reached Dh670 million, an increase of 40 per cent over the previous year, said a statement from Empower.

Bin Shafar commented: “Empower’s operations grew remarkably in 2011 due to higher demand. We also expanded our footprint and enhanced the infrastructure and network in real estate projects to cater to the needs of our rapidly increasing client base. Moreover, the company worked on training its personnel across all levels, which has definitely contributed to these positive results.”

Speaking about funding for Empower’s expanding operations, Bin Shafar said its funding options included internal cash generated from operations, medium- to long-term funding from banks and financial institutions and shareholders’ equity contributions. He said Empower adopted a clear strategy for 2011, an extension of the company’s strategy in previous years. The strategy revolved round creating cooling capacities based on actual demand for district cooling services. The company also increased its personnel by 12 per cent in 2011.

The official said the company’s performance was in line with the growth of the district cooling sector in the UAE.  Empower achieved an increase of 12 per cent in its cooling capacity, with over 370,000 RT in 2011, the statement said. 

“The challenges facing the development of the industry in the UAE include a lack of visibility to project development timelines and robust strategy for capacity creation in many of the district cooling companies which has led them to financial difficulties,” Bin Shafar said.

“The Gulf district cooling industry is growing at the rate of 15 to 20 per cent and the biggest obstacle in the way of its progress was the absence of long-term planning among the companies working in the district cooling industry.”

He said the Middle East was still in its infancy in district cooling compared to the scale of development across the region, and commended the regional governments for encouraging environment-friendly cooling technologies.